By Bill Heaney
A man has been arrested and charged after homophobic comments were alleged to have been hurled at Scottish Greens co-leader, Dumbarton man Patrick Harvie.
During a broadcast interview with the Scottish Government minister, a man could be heard calling Harvie a “deviant”.
The party then reported the incident to police.
Harvie was being interviewed by the BBC on camera when a passer-by hurled abuse at him.
A man was heard urging people to vote “any colour but Greens” before repeatedly shouting “you’re a deviant” at the politician.
Harvie, who is bisexual, responded by labelling the man a “bigot”.
The housing minister was speaking to a journalist on the campaign trail as his party launched their candidate for the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.
After the man left the Scottish Greens co-leader said “toxic forces” had helped bring a rise in anti-LGBT attacks.
“The fact is there are some pretty toxic forces in politics at the moment that have unleashed homophobia and transphobia in a way that we haven’t seen in many, many years,” he said.
“Those who have cultivated this nasty kind of culture war against minorities need to take responsibility for verbal abuse like that but also for violence that we’ve seen rising against LGBT+ people.”
Following the incident, First Minister Humza Yousaf shared his support for his Scottish Government colleague.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Following a report of homophobic comments a 59-year-old man has been arrested and charged. A report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.”
Frightening and chilling stuff to arrest a man for this.
The Police in pursuing, arresting and charging this individual for what has been reported are now nothing less than state directed thugs pursuing a policy stifling all comment.
This is a Police Force who have been weaponised to relentlessly pursue political agendas.
Alex Salmond, Mark Hirst, Craig Millar, Marion Millar, Manby Singh, whilst disregarding real law breaking by the priveleged.
Consider the might of the Police being applied to Margaret Ferrier MP when she travelled after having had a positive test with the Police’s utter refusal to do anything about Boris Johnston breaking Covid rules in Scotland, or the then Prince Charles.
Arrested and charged for simply saying to a politician that they are a deviant sums up where we are.
Mind you, if in the 1930s you said Adolf Hitler or any of his political aparachiks were deviants then you could have expected the same response.
Watch yourself Editor, you could be next.